Hi John,

Yesterday, some great news emerged from the Government’s ‘English Devolution and Community Empowerment’ bill – a BIG change to the voting system in some important elections:

First-Past-the-Post will be SCRAPPED in the elections of Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners!

Provisions are in place for reverting back to the use of the Supplementary Vote system – a preferential means of electing our leaders. This will ensure the single figure elected in each role will have broader support, as a majority of votes is required to win.

We welcome this development as clear recognition by those in power that FPTP is not fit for purpose and undermines our democracy. We also see today as a logical first step towards eliminating the system from all our elections – for good.

Since the introduction of FPTP in these elections by the last government in 2022, Mayors have been elected on very small shares of the vote, undermining their democratic mandates, and eroding trust in our elections.

🗳️ ⁠In the final mayoral elections using preferential voting (2021), all six positions were elected with majority support.

🗳️ In 2024, the first such elections using FPTP, only five of the ten mayors elected received a majority of the vote – with one receiving just 35%.

🗳️ This past May, none of the six winning candidates received a majority of the vote, earning an average of less than three out of ten votes between them – with one candidate winning on just one quarter of the vote.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections is fully supportive of this development.

Its Chair, Alex Sobel MP, noted that FPTP “has failed to fairly represent voters, undermined the ability of Mayors to speak for their whole communities, and therefore eroded trust in politics” adding that this bill is a “step in the right direction” towards FPTP being eliminated from all elections – especially General Elections.

This is the ultimate goal of the APPG for Fair Elections – for which we are the proud Secretariat. As the largest APPG in Parliament (with 157 members), we are confident we have the energy and backing of MPs required to make this crucial change to our democracy.

This support is enhanced by the ever-increasing public demand for an end to FPTP – with an unprecedented 60% of people wanting to see a more proportional voting system in our elections, according to the British Social Attitudes survey published last month.

But, just as important, is YOU. We can only put pressure on Parliament to ensure we replace FPTP with a proportional voting system with YOUR support – which allows us to push for:

✅ ⁠A National Commission for Electoral Reform, without further delay, to kickstart the process to replace FPTP with a proportional system at general elections.

✅ Stronger laws around how election campaigns are funded, to protect our politics from bad actors and billionaires who seek to undermine our democracy.

✅ Bolder action against the tech giants who facilitate the spread of misinformation, promoting lies and hate in our democratic process.

That’s what the APPG for Fair Elections is working to guarantee – and we are hugely grateful that your continued support allows us to rally Parliamentarians behind this important cause.

This is just the beginning. FPTP is not fit for purpose in any British election – especially a general election. Let’s make a vital upgrade to our democracy together – thank you.

All the best,

James Patrick

Campaigns and Content Officer

Open Britain